The longlists for the 2026 Women AutHer Awards were announced on March 8, featuring eight books each in fiction, non-fiction, children's literature, and debut categories. The awards, presented by The Times of India and JK Paper, recognize Indian women writers with cash prizes of Rs 1 lakh for winners. Selections for winners will be made by juries, with the popular choice category determined through online voting.
The 2026 Women AutHer Awards longlists were revealed on Sunday, March 8, highlighting outstanding works by Indian women authors. Organized by The Times of India in collaboration with JK Paper, the awards cover four main categories: fiction, non-fiction, children's literature, and debut. Each category includes eight books, with winners selected by expert juries. The popular choice category will be decided via online voting, and there is also a manuscript category. Winning authors receive Rs 1 lakh, shared equally in case of joint winners.
In the fiction category, the longlisted books are: Blood Caste by Shylashri Shankar, The Comeback by Annie Zaidi, Real Life by Amrita Mahale, Rising Sons by Kavery Nambisan, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, The Remnants of a Rebellion by Ponnu Elizabeth Mathew, The Courtesan, Her Lover and I by Tarana Husain Khan, and The Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar.
For non-fiction: In the Beginning There Was Bombay Duck: A Food History of Mumbai by Pronoti Datta, Rubber: The Social and Natural History of an Indispensable Substance by Vidya Rajan, A Man For All Seasons: The Life Of KM Panikkar by Narayani Basu, The Maker of Filmmakers: How Jagat Murari and FTII Changed Indian Cinema Forever by Radha Chadha, Scamlands: Inside the Asian Empire of Fraud That Preys on the World by Snigdha Poonam, India’s First Radicals: Young Bengal and the British Empire by Rosinka Chaudhuri, Called by the Hills: A Home in the Himalaya by Anuradha Roy, and Farmers Protest!: A Movement for Our Times by Namita Waikar.
The debut category features: Invisible in Plain Sight: Voices From the By-Lanes of Kamathipura by Swati Pandey, Lifequake: A Story of Hope and Humanity by Tarini Mohan, Lōal Kashmir: Love and Longing in a Torn Land by Mehak Jamal, The Cost of a Promised Afterlife: My Escape from a Controversial Religious Cult in India by Priyamvada Mehra, Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains by Subi Taba, What Women Want: Understanding The Female Voter in Modern India by Ruhi Tewari, The Ex-Daughters of Tolstoy House by Arunima Tenzin Tara, and Sheher Mein Gaon: Culture, Conflict and Change in the Urban Villages of Delhi by Ekta Chauhan.
Children's literature longlist includes: Sneaker Paati by Anita Nair, Uncoded: A Technological History of Independent India by Meghaa Gupta, A Demon in Dandi by Lavanya Karthik, History Unpacked: The Why, When and What of Ancient India by Saisudha Acharya, When Mummy Had Cancer by Priyanka Pandya Bhatt, Ganesh Haloi: Colours of Home by Likla Lall, Spotless: A Novel in Verse by Vibha Batra, and Rain Holiday by Shreya Ramachandran.
These longlists showcase diverse themes, from social histories and personal narratives to explorations of Indian culture and politics, underscoring the vibrancy of women's writing in India.
